A nationwide study has raised fresh concerns over the growing culture of online gambling among Nigeria’s future doctors and dentists, revealing that four in 10 medical and dental students have engaged in online betting, while about one in 10 exhibit behaviours consistent with a possible gambling disorder.
Published in the Journal of Gambling Studies, the study warns that financial pressures, academic stress and the rapid expansion of online betting platforms are drawing students in some of the country’s most demanding professional programmes into gambling, particularly sports betting, despite the risks to their mental health, finances and academic performance.
The research was conducted by experts, including Nicholas Aderinto, Adetola Emmanuel Babalola, Gbolahan Olatunji, Emmanuel Kokori, Victor Oluwatomiwa Ajekiigbe, Ikponmwosa Jude Ogieuhi, Ikpembhosa Esangbedo, Victor Johnson and Ilori Abdulkabir Ayomide.
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The researchers surveyed 403 MBBS and BDS students from 12 universities across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones using the internationally recognised South Oaks Gambling Screen, one of the world’s most widely used tools for identifying gambling behaviour and possible gambling disorders.
Their findings showed that 40.19 per cent of respondents had participated in online gambling, while 10.42 per cent exhibited behaviours associated with a possible gambling disorder, highlighting what the researchers described as an emerging behavioural health concern among future healthcare professionals.
The study identified sports betting as the most popular form of gambling. Male students were significantly more likely to participate than their female counterparts, while gambling was also more common among older students and those enrolled in MBBS programmes than among dental students.
Participation also varied across institutions, with the University of Calabar and the University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus, recording the highest levels of sports betting among the universities included in the study.
The authors also found that students’ financial circumstances—including dependence on parents or family members, scholarships, loans and other funding sources—were associated with gambling behaviour, suggesting that economic pressures and the search for additional income may be contributing to the growing popularity of online betting among undergraduates.
Warning that problem gambling could have far-reaching consequences for students’ wellbeing and future careers, the researchers urged universities to strengthen awareness campaigns, expand access to mental health support services and provide financial counselling for students vulnerable to gambling-related harm.
They also called for further research into the psychological, physical and academic effects of online gambling, stressing that the rapid growth of digital betting platforms among young Nigerians requires an equally robust public health and institutional response.